What evidence is there that Jesus rose from the dead?

What evidence is there that Jesus rose from the dead?

The Question
The Bible itself states that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the Christian faith is not a faith worth having (1 Cor. 15:14+17). What evidence supports the incredible claim that Jesus rose from the dead?

The Answer
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is, indeed, the core doctrine of Christianity. And because it is such an extraordinary claim, it is understandable that one would doubt it in the absence of evidence. But we believe the resurrection of Jesus is, by far, the best explanation for three strands of evidence.

The first strand of evidence is that the tomb was empty. This fact of history has been explained in a number of ways:

~ Maybe Jesus only fainted on the cross
~ Maybe the disciples stole the body
~ Maybe they went to the wrong tomb
~ Maybe it was Jesus who died on the cross

But all of these explanations, once considered, are quite unreasonable. Roman soldiers knew how to crucify people and make sure they were dead. The tomb was well guarded. The Jewish and/or Roman authorities would have quickly corrected a case of mistaken location, as they would have a case of mistaken identity.


The second strand of evidence is that of the appearances. This fact of history (that many claimed to have seen the risen Jesus) has also been explained in various ways:

~ Maybe they actually saw a look-alike
~ Maybe they hallucinated
~ Maybe they really saw a ghost of Jesus
~ Maybe it was a mass conspiracy

But, again, all of these explanations are harder to believe than the biblical account. Could a look-alike have truly tricked Jesus’ family and friends? Could so many people hallucinated the same thing (even the one’s who were skeptical) at different times and places? Why would they use the word ‘resurrection’ (which referred to a material body) to describe a ghostly appearance? And why would they die for a lie (most of Jesus’ followers died for their belief that he rose from the dead and was the King of kings)?

A third strand of evidence is the emergence of Christianity. How does one explain the spread of the good news that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead if the last event in his life was his death on a Roman cross? How does one explain the millions who testify to a relationship with Jesus?

To make matters worse (for those doubting the resurrection), one must come up with a theory (or combination of theories) that reasonably explains all three strands of evidence. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). In our opinion, it is much more reasonable to believe that Jesus really did rise from the dead, as the Bible records.